Abstract
Submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) is considered as a keystone habitat, contributing significantly to structure and function of coastal lagoons. However, limited understanding of the factors driving SAV distribution and abundance across a wide range of salinity in tropical coastal lagoons has restricted the effectiveness of managing and preserving the ecosystem services in coastal lagoon habitats. This study examined the distribution and abundance of SAV species in the growing season in relation to water physico-chemical variables and grain sizes of sediment types in a tropical lagoon in Viet Nam. The results revealed that Najas indica and Halophila beccarii were the dominant species in the community of 7 SAV species, accounting for 70% of the total cover and 55% of the total biomass sampled. Variation partitioning showed that both water and sediment variables were important in explaining spatial distribution and abundance of SAV species across the coastal lagoon. Salinity was the most significant predictor variable that accounted for the variation of SAV species data. The study implied that changes of salinity and silt (versus sand) particles can lead to different SAV assemblages in the lagoon.
About the author
T.T. Hang Phan is a teacher at the Department of Biology, Hue University of Sciences, Viet Nam and is also a PhD student at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium. Her areas of interest and research are in conservation genetics, population ecology and coastal ecosystem restoration and management. She currently researches on the resilience of seagrass species and the dynamic of the submerged aquatic vegetation communities in coastal lagoon environments.
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank the Phu Loc district People’s Committee for providing us access to the lagoon and local fishermen for boating us during the field trips. The authors thank all members of the project “Preservation of the coastal ecosystems and natural resources under the effects of development activities” in VLIR-IUC HUE program and the students of Biology and Environment Departments (Hue University of Sciences) for their help with field and lab work. We would also like to acknowledge C. Tin Hoang and Q. Tuan Nguyen for their help with making the map. This study was part of PhD thesis of T.T. Hang Phan (Vrije Universiteit Brussel) and funded by the VLIR-UOS and the Ecology and Biodiversity Lab (Biology Department, Vrije Universiteit Brussel).
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